Institute for Immunology (Tübingen)
| Institute for Immunology | |
|---|---|
 Institute for Immunology (Tübingen) |
|
| Category: | Federal Research Institute |
| Carrier: | Friedrich Loeffler Institute |
| Legal form of the carrier: | Higher federal authority |
| Seat of the wearer: | Greifswald , Riems Island |
| Facility location: | Tübingen |
| Type of research: | Departmental research |
| Subjects: | Natural sciences |
| Areas of expertise: | Veterinary medicine , Immunology |
| Basic funding: | Federal Government ( BMELV ) |
| Management: | Lothar Stitz |
| Homepage: | www.fli.bund.de |
The Institute for Immunology was a research facility of the Federal Republic of Germany, which, as a branch in Tübingen, was part of the legally independent higher federal authority Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut on the island of Riems . The FLI also had the additional designation “Federal Research Institute for Animal Health”. The institute primarily carried out departmental research for the Federal Ministry for Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection . The research tasks of the institute were in the field of veterinary medicine and immunology .
history
In 1952 the establishment of the "Federal Research Institute for Virus Diseases of Animals" (BFAV) in Tübingen was decided after the former Reich Research Institute on the island of Riems was no longer available to the Federal Republic after the division of Germany. The current reason for the establishment was the strong supra-regional spread of the foot-and-mouth disease in the early 1950s, which had caused heavy losses in agricultural animal husbandry. The fact that Tübingen was chosen as the location was not least due to the fact that the “Max Planck Institute for Virus Research” (since 1984 Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology ) was already located there.
In the first few years, mainly practice-oriented questions from diagnostics and epidemiology were dealt with. In addition to research on the foot-and-mouth disease virus, the work was also expanded to include other virus- related animal diseases .
After German reunification, the Friedrich Loeffler Institute on the island of Riems was re-established in 1992 as part of the BFAV, then in 1997 the Insel Riems head office of the Federal Research Institute and the Tübingen site became a branch of the BFAV. In 2004 the “Federal Research Center for Virus Diseases in Animals” was renamed the Friedrich Loeffler Institute .
The branch in Tübingen was closed on December 31, 2011 after the new building on the island of Riems had been completed.
research
The tasks of the institute were divided into the following areas:
- Applied Immunology and Molecular Biology
- Immunology and pathogenesis of infection-related diseases
- Participation in the risk assessment according to the Genetic Engineering Act
Immunology and molecular biology
In order to improve and develop new fighting and control strategies on an immunological basis, molecular biological studies were carried out on various viruses . These investigations with the aim of recombinant viruses as live vaccine use, extended to pestiviruses (virus of classical swine fever ; bovine viral diarrhea virus ), calicivirus (viral hemorrhagic rabbit disease), herpesviruses (pseudorabies), Para poxviruses and Fischrhabdoviren .
Immunology and Pathogenesis
The immunological work of the institute served to elucidate the cellular and humoral immune response to viral infections in pigs and in models of mice, rats and hamsters. The focus of this work was the analysis of the mechanisms involved in defense reactions up to the cell biological investigation of immunologically relevant signaling pathways . Findings from these investigations were used to understand the pathogenesis and improve the efficiency and new developments of viral vaccines . Investigations on pestiviruses were carried out to identify viral virulence factors and to understand their mechanisms of action. In addition to work on the analysis of the involvement of immunological mechanisms in the pathogenesis of TSE diseases , work on the structure and inactivation of TSE pathogens was also carried out. Virus-host interactions have been studied in experimental influenza virus infections . Research on fish viruses focused on the molecular epidemiology of fish-pathogenic rhabdoviruses and the development of vaccines.
Risk assessment
For the risk assessment of the release of genetically modified organisms, a task of the FLI according to the Genetic Engineering Act, research work carried out at the institute on the molecular biology of viruses created the scientific basis.
See also
- Working group of departmental research institutions
- Animal Health Act
- Overview of notifiable animal diseases
Web links
- Homepage of the Friedrich Loeffler Institute
- Annual Animal Health Reports
- The former Friedrich Loeffler Institute on TÜpedia
Individual evidence
- ↑ Elke Reinking and Thomas C. Mettenleiter: 100 years of the Friedrich Loeffler Institute - 100 years of research for animal health ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 224 kB) in: Tierärztliche Umschau 65, Terra Verlag, Konstanz 2010, ISSN 0049-3864 , pp. 361–369 (here: p. 366).
Coordinates: 48 ° 32 ′ 15 ″ N , 9 ° 2 ′ 19 ″ E